-- Consolidated sales increased 6.3% to $178.2 million (Q2 2013 - $167.7
million);
-- Same-store sales increased by 4.4% in Canada ($5.3 million) and
increased by 1.3% in the U.S. ($0.5 million). Adjusting for the calendar
shift in Easter, same-store sales in Canada increased by 2.5% and
increased by 0.3% in the U.S.;
-- Gross margin increased 30bps to 25.1% (2013 - 24.8%); and
-- Adjusted operating margin(1) decreased by $1.1 million to $10.6 million
(Q2 2013 - $11.7 million), as a result of the ongoing investments to
support the Company's business strategies, offset by the increased
margin from the higher same-store sales and the calendar shift in
Easter.
( 1) Adjusted operating margin is a non-IFRS measure that does not have
any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. For more information on
non-IFRS measures see the 'Non-IFRS Measures' section of this MD&A.

Six Months Ended June 30, 2014

-- Consolidated sales increased 3.8% to $315.5 million (2013 - $304.0
million);
-- Same-store sales increased by 1.3% in Canada ($2.9 million) and U.S.
same-store sales were consistent with the prior year;
-- Gross margin decreased 30bps to 24.9% (2013 - 25.2%); and
-- Adjusted operating margin decreased by $6.6 million to $11.6 million
(2013 - $18.2 million), primarily as a result of:
-- Temporary reductions in gross margin as a percentage of sales in the
first four months of 2014, including sales of clearance inventory
and the upfront investment to launch our new digital marketing
program (the Celebration Club),
-- Competitive pressures in certain regions where we have implemented
more competitive pricing to gain back market share as has been
reflected in our improved results for May and June 2014, and
-- Ongoing investments to support the Company's business strategies.

Commenting on the Q2 2014 financial results, Stephen Bebis, President and CEO of the Company said: "After disappointing financial results in the first quarter of 2014, our second quarter results were back on track. We are pleased with our same-store sales growth in Canada and the United States, and the improvement in gross margins as a percentage of sales compared to prior year. As expected, our operating results are down from last year as we execute on our Seven Point plan. We expect a steady improvement in our operating margin going forward, as we realize benefits from the plan. We anticipate that the full positive earnings impact from the plan will be achieved starting in 2016."

"We have made significant progress during the quarter against our previously announced Seven Point plan to strengthen our operating platform and drive long-term growth in profitability," said Mr. Bebis. "Our new senior leadership team has hit the ground running as demonstrated by improved same-store sales and gross margins compared to the first quarter of 2014. In the second half of 2014, we'll continue to execute our Seven Point plan including: implementing product assortment plans, selling our new exclusive products that we take delivery of in the fall, improving our pricing and marketing strategies to build market share, continuing promotion of our digital marketing program, the Celebration Club, an opt-in customer database to support product and store marketing activities via email and social media, launching our formal training program called Liquor Stores University, and starting the planning and design phases of our new enterprise resource system."

The MD&A as well as the condensed interim consolidated financial statements and notes for the financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 are available on the Company's website (www.liquorstoresna.ca) and on the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com).

SALES

Total sales increased by $10.5 million or 6.3% to $178.2 million in the second quarter of 2014 (Q2 2013 - $167.7 million). The increase is primarily the result of the sales contribution from same-stores in Canada, the calendar shift in Easter, new store expansion in the United States and Canada offsetting store closures in Canada (two new stores opened in the United States and four new stores opened in Canada, and nine stores closed since March 31, 2013), and a $2.8 million positive change in foreign exchange on the translation of U.S. dollar denominated sales to Canadian dollars.

Same-Store Sales

-- Canadian same-store sales increased by $5.3 million, or 4.4%.
-- Same-store sales were impacted positively by the calendar shift in
Easter (late March 2013 to mid-April 2014). Management estimates
that the impact of this calendar related event was approximately
1.9%.
-- Canadian same-store sales in Q2 2014 were primarily impacted by
changes to our pricing and marketing strategies. Historically, the
Company has relied almost exclusively on price promotion through a
flyer circulation program to drive customers to our stores and
remain competitive. Consistent with our Seven Point plan, we have
taken the initial steps to implement new pricing and promotion
strategies, improve customer loyalty with the introduction of the
Celebration Club, and increase brand promotion. In Q2 2014, as part
of this change in strategy, we placed more emphasis on the use of
various forms of media that have not been fully utilized previously
by the Company. We believe that the use of multiple forms of media
allows us to better target our customers and will allow us, in time,
to focus more on brand promotion and customer loyalty programs.
However, it will take time to realize the full benefits from these
changes and we anticipate that our same-store sales growth in the
interim may vary from quarter to quarter as we transition from
flyers to these other forms of media and promotion.
-- U.S. same-store sales increased by $0.5 million or 1.3%.
-- Management estimates that the calendar shift in Easter contributed
approximately 1.0% to the U.S. same-store sales increase in the
second quarter.
-- Same-store sales in the United States have been positively impacted
by same-store sales growth in Kentucky. While we continue to be
impacted by certain counties in Kentucky that have gone from 'dry'
to 'wet' in recent periods, we believe that changes to our pricing
and marketing strategies and the introduction of store level
training programs during the latter half of 2013 and early 2014 have
assisted in allowing us to compete more effectively.

MARGINS

For the three months ended June 30, 2014, gross margin was $44.7 million, up 7.6% from $41.6 million for the same period last year. The increase in gross margin was primarily attributable to the improvement in Canadian same-store sales ($1.0 million, excluding the effect of Easter), the calendar shift in Easter ($0.7 million), an improvement in gross margin as a percentage of sales to 25.1% (2013 - 24.8%) ($0.5 million), the sales increase from new stores net of store closures ($0.3 million), and a positive change in foreign exchange on translation of U.S. dollar denominated gross margin to Canadian dollars ($0.6 million).

The improvement in our gross margins as a percentage of sales was primarily attributable to initial changes made to our pricing and marketing strategies in the latter half of the second quarter. These improvements were partially offset by certain temporary reductions in our gross margin percentage that arose in the first quarter and continued into the early part of the second quarter (see further discussion of these matters in the Analysis of Financial Results section of our MD&A).

Adjusted operating margin for the three months ended June 30, 2014 decreased by $1.1 million to $10.6 million, primarily due to the increases in operating and administrative expenses, which were partially offset by increases in gross margin as explained above. Adjusted operating margin as a percentage of sales was 6.0%, down from 7.0%. Operating margin for the three months ended June 30, 2014 decreased by $2.5 million to $9.3 million or 5.2% as a percentage of sales (Q2 2013 - 7.0%).

Operating and administrative expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2014 were $35.5 million, up 18.7% from $29.9 million a year earlier. Excluding adjusting items of $1.4 million in the quarter, these expenses increased by 14.1% or $4.2 million.

-- The adjusting items for the current quarter include $0.6 million for a
payment made to a former officer of the Company upon his departure from
the Company during the quarter, $0.4 million for a settlement with a
vendor for software license fees from prior years, $0.3 million for
legal and tax professional fees not expected to reoccur related to
changes made to our corporate structure, and $0.1 million for a
settlement related to an early termination of a lease in conjunction
with a store closure in a prior year.
-- The increases related to the operation of our stores include: higher
overall costs associated with the additional store locations that have
been opened in the past twelve months (e.g. rent, payroll, utilities,
etc.), net of store closures ($0.4 million), rent escalations related to
the renewal of long-term lease arrangements in the past twelve months
($0.5 million), increases in operating costs associated with running
same-stores, including the use of additional various forms of media in
our marketing plans ($1.5 million), and an increase in operating
expenses as a result of the foreign exchange on translation of U.S.
dollar denominated expenses to Canadian dollars ($0.4 million).
-- Administrative expenses have increased by approximately $1.4 million
over the prior year. This increase is primarily attributable to
increased costs associated with the execution of our Seven-Point Plan,
including investments in store level training programs, customer
relationship management strategies and tools, branding strategies,
efforts to remodel certain stores, information technology
infrastructure, and additional head office staff to support the
Company's growth and other business strategies.

CIO, CTO & Developer Resources

EARNINGS AND EARNINGS PER SHARE

For the three months ended June 30, 2014, net earnings of $3.4 million were recorded (Q2 2013 -$5.3 million). The decrease in net earnings in 2014 is primarily the result of the increase in operating and administrative expenses (inflationary increases and ongoing investments to support the Company's business strategies), and the $0.4 million net change in the mark-to-market adjustments related to an interest rate swap, which were partially offset by increases in gross margin and lower amortization expense as discussed further in our MD&A.

Basic and diluted earnings per share for the three months ended June 30, 2014 were $0.14 per share (Q2 2013: $0.23). Basic and diluted earnings per share decreased as a result of the same factors that impacted net earnings, as noted above.

CASH FLOW AND DIVIDENDS

For the three months ended June 30, 2014, cash used in operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital and adjusting items was $8.6 million ($0.37 per share), an decrease of $1.4 million compared to $10.0 million ($0.43 per share) for Q2 2013. The decrease was primarily due to the decrease in operating margins as discuss earlier.

During the three months ended June 30, 2014, the Company declared dividends of $0.27 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.08 per share. The Company has declared a monthly dividend consecutively since going public in 2004.

The Company has a dividend reinvestment plan (the "DRIP") to provide eligible shareholders with a convenient means of reinvesting monthly dividends into additional common shares. For further information about the DRIP and DRIP enrolment please visit the Company's website located at www.liquorstoresna.com.

CONFERENCE CALL

Liquor Stores N.A Ltd. will host an analyst and investor conference call on Friday, August 15, 2014 to discuss results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014. The conference call will take place at 9:00 a.m. (MT). Participants on the call will include Stephen Bebis, President and Chief Executive Officer, Craig Corbett, Executive Vice President, Business Development, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, and David Gordey, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

To participate in the call, please dial 1-416-340-432 or toll-free at 1-800-952-4972. An archived recording of the conference call will be available approximately one hour after the completion of the call until August 22, 2014, by dialling 1-905-694-9451 or toll-free 1-800-408-3053 (pass code is 1527392).

ABOUT LIQUOR STORES N.A. LTD.

The Company operates 244 retail liquor stores in Alberta, British Columbia, Alaska and Kentucky. Liquor Stores' retail brands include: Liquor Depot, Liquor Barn, and Wine and Beyond in Alberta (175 stores); Liquor Depot and Liquor Barn in British Columbia (35 stores); Brown Jug in Alaska (22 stores); and Liquor Barn "The Ultimate Party Source" and Liquor Barn Express in Kentucky (12 stores). The Company's common shares and convertible subordinated debentures trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols "LIQ" and "LIQ.DB.A", respectively.

Operating margin, operating margin as a percentage of sales, adjusted operating margin, adjusting items, cash provided by operating activities before changes in working capital, cash provided by operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital on a per share basis, and same-store sales are not measures recognized by IFRS and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. Investors are cautioned that operating margin, operating margin as a percentage of sales, adjusted operating margin, adjusting items, cash provided in operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital, cash provided in operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital on a per share basis, and same-store sales should not replace net earnings or loss (as determined in accordance with IFRS) as an indicator of the Company's performance, of its cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities or as a measure of its liquidity and cash flows. The Company's method of calculating operating margin, operating margin as a percentage of sales, adjusted operating margin, adjusting items, cash provided in operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital, cash provided in operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital on a per share basis, and same-store sales may differ from the methods used by other issuers. Therefore, the Company's operating margin, operating margin as a percentage of sales, adjusted operating margin, adjusting items, cash provided in operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital, cash provided in operating activities before changes in working capital on a per share basis, and same-store sales may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.

Operating margin for purposes of disclosure under "Operating Results" has been derived by subtracting Operating and Administrative expenses from Gross Margin. Operating margin as a percentage of sales is calculated by dividing operating margin by sales.

Adjusted operating margin represents operating margin adjusted for unusual, non-recurring or non-operating factors on both a consolidated and segmented basis. These factors, referred to as adjusting items, are reconciled and discussed in the 'Summary of the Three and Six Months June 30, 2014' and 'Analysis of Financial Results' sections. Management believes the presentation of adjusted operating margin provides for useful information to investors and shareholders as it provides increased transparency and predictive value. Management uses adjusted operating margin to set targets and assess performance of the Company.

Cash provided by operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital and adjusting items is a non-IFRS financial measure that does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore is unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Investors are cautioned that this should not be construed as an alternative measure of profitability.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

In the interest of providing current shareholders and potential investors with information regarding current results and future prospects, this release may contain forward-looking statements about the Company's objectives, plans, goals, aspirations, strategies, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, performance, prospects and opportunities. All statements and information other than statements of historical fact contained in this release are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding the future financial position and performance of the Company, business strategies, costs, as well as plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "believe", "expect", "will", "intend", "project", "anticipate", "estimate", "continue", "forecast", "could", "goal", "foresee", "seek", "strive", "may", "should" and similar expressions or the negatives thereof, as they relate to the Company and its Management. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the future payment and timing of the payment of the Company's dividends, the anticipated opening dates of new stores, and Management's general expectations that the Company will have sufficient funds to complete store acquisitions, develop new stores and finance inventory.

Forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current plans, intentions, and expectations, which are based on Management's perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. The Company's plans, intentions, and expectations are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive and other uncertainties and contingencies regarding future events and as such, are subject to change. There is no assurance that the plans, intentions, or expectations upon which these forward-looking statements are based will occur and such forward-looking statements included in this release should not be unduly relied upon.

Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, those discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's MD&A for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014, the Company's MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2013, and the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 6, 2014. Other risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company or that Management presently believes are not material could also cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed in its forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made as of the date of this release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances except as expressly required by applicable securities law.

For IoT to grow as quickly as analyst firms’ project, a lot is going to fall on developers to quickly bring applications to market. But the lack of a standard development platform threatens to slow growth and make application development more time consuming and costly, much like we’ve seen in the mobile space.
In his session at @ThingsExpo, Mike Weiner, Product Manager of the Omega DevCloud with KORE Telematics Inc., discussed the evolving requirements for developers as IoT matures and conducted a live demonstration of how quickly application development can happen when the need to comply wit...

SYS-CON Events announced today that HPM Networks will exhibit at the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
For 20 years, HPM Networks has been integrating technology solutions that solve complex business challenges. HPM Networks has designed solutions for both SMB and enterprise customers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Internet of Everything (IoE) brings together people, process, data and things to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before – transforming information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom. IoE creates new capabilities, richer experiences, and unprecedented opportunities to improve business and government operations, decision making and mission support capabilities.

Explosive growth in connected devices. Enormous amounts of data for collection and analysis. Critical use of data for split-second decision making and actionable information. All three are factors in making the Internet of Things a reality. Yet, any one factor would have an IT organization pondering its infrastructure strategy.
How should your organization enhance its IT framework to enable an Internet of Things implementation? In his session at @ThingsExpo, James Kirkland, Red Hat's Chief Architect for the Internet of Things and Intelligent Systems, described how to revolutionize your archit...

MuleSoft has announced the findings of its 2015 Connectivity Benchmark Report on the adoption and business impact of APIs.
The findings suggest traditional businesses are quickly evolving into "composable enterprises" built out of hundreds of connected software services, applications and devices. Most are embracing the Internet of Things (IoT) and microservices technologies like Docker. A majority are integrating wearables, like smart watches, and more than half plan to generate revenue with APIs within the next year.

Growth hacking is common for startups to make unheard-of progress in building their business. Career Hacks can help Geek Girls and those who support them (yes, that's you too, Dad!) to excel in this typically male-dominated world.
Get ready to learn the facts:
Is there a bias against women in the tech / developer communities?
Why are women 50% of the workforce, but hold only 24% of the STEM or IT positions?
Some beginnings of what to do about it!
In her Opening Keynote at 16th Cloud Expo, Sandy Carter, IBM General Manager Cloud Ecosystem and Developers, and a Social Business Evangelist, d...

In his keynote at 16th Cloud Expo, Rodney Rogers, CEO of Virtustream, discussed the evolution of the company from inception to its recent acquisition by EMC – including personal insights, lessons learned (and some WTF moments) along the way. Learn how Virtustream’s unique approach of combining the economics and elasticity of the consumer cloud model with proper performance, application automation and security into a platform became a breakout success with enterprise customers and a natural fit for the EMC Federation.

The Internet of Things is not only adding billions of sensors and billions of terabytes to the Internet. It is also forcing a fundamental change in the way we envision Information Technology. For the first time, more data is being created by devices at the edge of the Internet rather than from centralized systems. What does this mean for today's IT professional?
In this Power Panel at @ThingsExpo, moderated by Conference Chair Roger Strukhoff, panelists addressed this very serious issue of profound change in the industry.

Discussions about cloud computing are evolving into discussions about enterprise IT in general. As enterprises increasingly migrate toward their own unique clouds, new issues such as the use of containers and microservices emerge to keep things interesting.
In this Power Panel at 16th Cloud Expo, moderated by Conference Chair Roger Strukhoff, panelists addressed the state of cloud computing today, and what enterprise IT professionals need to know about how the latest topics and trends affect their organization.

It is one thing to build single industrial IoT applications, but what will it take to build the Smart Cities and truly society-changing applications of the future? The technology won’t be the problem, it will be the number of parties that need to work together and be aligned in their motivation to succeed.
In his session at @ThingsExpo, Jason Mondanaro, Director, Product Management at Metanga, discussed how you can plan to cooperate, partner, and form lasting all-star teams to change the world and it starts with business models and monetization strategies.

Converging digital disruptions is creating a major sea change - Cisco calls this the Internet of Everything (IoE). IoE is the network connection of People, Process, Data and Things, fueled by Cloud, Mobile, Social, Analytics and Security, and it represents a $19Trillion value-at-stake over the next 10 years.
In her keynote at @ThingsExpo, Manjula Talreja, VP of Cisco Consulting Services, discussed IoE and the enormous opportunities it provides to public and private firms alike. She will share what businesses must do to thrive in the IoE economy, citing examples from several industry sectors.

There will be 150 billion connected devices by 2020. New digital businesses have already disrupted value chains across every industry. APIs are at the center of the digital business. You need to understand what assets you have that can be exposed digitally, what their digital value chain is, and how to create an effective business model around that value chain to compete in this economy. No enterprise can be complacent and not engage in the digital economy. Learn how to be the disruptor and not the disruptee.

Akana has released Envision, an enhanced API analytics platform that helps enterprises mine critical insights across their digital eco-systems, understand their customers and partners and offer value-added personalized services.
“In today’s digital economy, data-driven insights are proving to be a key differentiator for businesses. Understanding the data that is being tunneled through their APIs and how it can be used to optimize their business and operations is of paramount importance,” said Alistair Farquharson, CTO of Akana.

Business as usual for IT is evolving into a "Make or Buy" decision on a service-by-service conversation with input from the LOBs. How does your organization move forward with cloud? In his general session at 16th Cloud Expo, Paul Maravei, Regional Sales Manager, Hybrid Cloud and Managed Services at Cisco, discusses how Cisco and its partners offer a market-leading portfolio and ecosystem of cloud infrastructure and application services that allow you to uniquely and securely combine cloud business applications and services across multiple cloud delivery models.

The enterprise market will drive IoT device adoption over the next five years.
In his session at @ThingsExpo, John Greenough, an analyst at BI Intelligence, division of Business Insider, analyzed how companies will adopt IoT products and the associated cost of adopting those products.
John Greenough is the lead analyst covering the Internet of Things for BI Intelligence- Business Insider’s paid research service. Numerous IoT companies have cited his analysis of the IoT. Prior to joining BI Intelligence, he worked analyzing bank technology for Corporate Insight and The Clearing House Payment...

"Optimal Design is a technology integration and product development firm that specializes in connecting devices to the cloud," stated Joe Wascow, Co-Founder & CMO of Optimal Design, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City.

SYS-CON Events announced today that CommVault has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. A singular vision – a belief in a better way to address current and future data management needs – guides CommVault in the development of Singular Information Management® solutions for high-performance data protection, universal availability and simplified management of data on complex storage networks. CommVault's exclusive single-platform architecture gives companies unp...

Electric Cloud and Arynga have announced a product integration partnership that will bring Continuous Delivery solutions to the automotive Internet-of-Things (IoT) market. The joint solution will help automotive manufacturers, OEMs and system integrators adopt DevOps automation and Continuous Delivery practices that reduce software build and release cycle times within the complex and specific parameters of embedded and IoT software systems.

"ciqada is a combined platform of hardware modules and server products that lets people take their existing devices or new devices and lets them be accessible over the Internet for their users," noted Geoff Engelstein of ciqada, a division of Mars International, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City.

Internet of Things is moving from being a hype to a reality. Experts estimate that internet connected cars will grow to 152 million, while over 100 million internet connected wireless light bulbs and lamps will be operational by 2020. These and many other intriguing statistics highlight the importance of Internet powered devices and how market penetration is going to multiply many times over in the next few years.

The concept behind the Internet of Things has been around for a while now, ATMs being some of the first enterprise, hardened, network-connected, managed devices for mainstream consumer use. So too with our mobile phones, these are not new concepts to network technicians or hardware geeks. But for the rest of us, we simply never imagined the extents that the "ubiquity of connectedness" would take all other industries, from biotech to automotive, personal care to agriculture, entertainment to custom manufacturing. The list is as long as our imaginations.

Business and IT leaders today need better application delivery capabilities to support critical new innovation. But how often do you hear objections to improving application delivery like, "I can harden it against attack, but not on this timeline"; "I can make it better, but it will cost more"; "I can deliver faster, but not with these specs"; or "I can stay strong on cost control, but quality will suffer"? In the new application economy, these tradeoffs are no longer acceptable. Customers will abandon your brand forever for a slow response or a privacy breach; competitors will steal critical ...

Learn how the IoT Cloud will power the world of tomorrow and why managing IoT through the cloud is as important as cloud computing itself. Learn how the devices of tomorrow will work on business models that reflect a new business strategy and a way to consume services.
In his session at @ThingsExpo, Ian Khan, Manager, Innovation & Marketing at Solgenia, will discuss how powered by the cloud and made possible by high tech manufacturing, sensors and devices with one way and even two way ability of control will devise a new IoT Cloud enabled world.

JavaScript is primarily a client-based dynamic scripting language most commonly used within web browsers as client-side scripts to interact with the user, browser, and communicate asynchronously to servers.
If you have been part of any web-based development, odds are you have worked with JavaScript in one form or another. In this article, I'll focus on the aspects of JavaScript that are relevant within the Node.js environment.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has quickly become the next “be all to end all” in information technology. Touted as how cloud computing will connect everyday things together, it is also feared as the real- life instantiation of The Terminator’s Skynet, where sentient robot team with an omnipresent and all-knowing entity that uses technology to control, and ultimately destroy, all of humanity.

We Need a Holistic Network Infrastructure: Why Controllers Are Not Cutting It
For years, we've relied too heavily on individual network functions or simplistic cloud controllers. However, they are no longer enough for today's modern cloud data center. Businesses need a comprehensive platform architecture in order to deliver a complete networking suite for IoT environment based on OpenStack.
In his session at @ThingsExpo, Dhiraj Sehgal from PLUMgrid discussed what a holistic networking solution should really entail, and how to build a complete platform that is scalable, secure, agile and auto...

Digital Transformation is the process of updating your business and IT infrastructure to align with today's and tomorrow's consumers. Today that is important, but hard to do. Mobile consumer behaviors are changing far faster than most IT budgets and initiatives and that can cause problems. If your customers are adopting technologies and changing their path-to-purchase journeys at a pace that is faster than you can deliver, then you are opening up an opportunity gap for a more nimble competitor.

The multi-trillion economic opportunity around the "Internet of Things" (IoT) is emerging as the hottest topic for investors in 2015. As we connect the physical world with information technology, data from actions, processes and the environment can increase sales, improve efficiencies, automate daily activities and minimize risk.
In his session at @ThingsExpo, Ed Maguire, Senior Analyst at CLSA Americas, will describe what is new and different about IoT, explore financial, technological and real-world impact across consumer and business use cases. Why now?
Significant corporate and venture...

Sensor-enabled things are becoming more commonplace, precursors to a larger and more complex framework that most consider the ultimate promise of the IoT: things connecting, interacting, sharing, storing, and over time perhaps learning and predicting based on habits, behaviors, location, preferences, purchases and more.
In his session at @ThingsExpo, Tom Wesselman, Director of Communications Ecosystem Architecture at Plantronics, examineed the still nascent IoT as it is coalescing, including what it is today, what it might ultimately be, the role of wearable tech, and technology gaps still in...

What if, during a snow emergency, an on-the-ground sensor could automatically trigger a relevant emergency notification related to snowfall and road impact. And then, after it’s triggered, that notification is delivered intelligently to individuals based on an extensive set of rules designed to alert the most available and capable responders.
This “what if” question about “smart highways” is short-sighted. We are already there, and we are only getting started. While mainstream attention is paid to machine-to-machine communications, new technologies are being developed to make these communica...

WebRTC: together these advances have created a perfect storm of technologies that are disrupting and transforming classic communications models and ecosystems.
In his session at WebRTC Summit, Cary Bran, VP of Innovation and New Ventures at Plantronics and PLT Labs, will provide an overview of this technological shift, including associated business and consumer communications impacts, and opportunities it may enable, complement or entirely transform.

As organizations realize the scope of the Internet of Things, gaining key insights from Big Data, through the use of advanced analytics, becomes crucial. However, IoT also creates the need for petabyte scale storage of data from millions of devices. A new type of Storage is required which seamlessly integrates robust data analytics with massive scale. These storage systems will act as “smart systems” provide in-place analytics that speed discovery and enable businesses to quickly derive meaningful and actionable insights.
In his session at @ThingsExpo, Paul Turner, Chief Marketing Officer at...

A recent purchase of mine was a 2015 Jeep. Until now, I thought it was a safe and reliable car, but that is not the case anymore. As technology advances and cars become smarter and more technologically savvy, they become another target for hackers.
Imagine speeding down the highway, zooming past 18-wheelers, SUVs and coupes, when all of a sudden, your brakes give out and your speed increases. Instantly, you think what could be wrong with the car, you pump your breaks and check your dash and there is no sign of stopping. Instant panic washes over you and a fear of dread drowns out the honkin...

In the consumer IoT, everything is new, and the IT world of bits and bytes holds sway.
But industrial and commercial realms encompass operational technology (OT) that has been around for 25 or 50 years.
This grittier, pre-IP, more hands-on world has much to gain from Industrial IoT (IIoT) applications and principles.
But adding sensors and wireless connectivity won't work in environments that demand unwavering reliability and performance.
In his session at @ThingsExpo, Ron Sege, CEO of Echelon, discussed how as enterprise IT embraces other IoT-related technology trends, enterprises with in...

As much as I like to promote and evangelize mobile technologies and mobile commerce, it remains in its infancy.
My preliminary research reveals it is critical for a mobile retailer to know who is using a mobile application in order to maximize sales. This knowledge should then be used to present a customized mobile experience based upon the user's preferences and demographics. Even though consumers uniformly don't like the "idea" of vendors collecting data on them, they are happy to give it up in exchange for special treatment, discounts and deals as demonstrated by the high numbers of loy...

Cloud computing budgets worldwide are reaching into the hundreds of billions of dollars, and no organization can survive long without some sort of cloud migration strategy. Each month brings new announcements, use cases, and success stories.